Finishes having two or more visually distinct colors have long been recognized to enhance the value of certain objects. In many instances, however, such techniques are difficult to utilize, and are accordingly both expensive and infrequently used. Other finishes obtainable, for example, from various commercially available kits produce a surface finish which either looses its attractive appearance with age and/or use, and thus is generally applied only to objects of marginal or low value.
One of the more desirable dual color finishes is a natural or suedo marble finish. Marble or marble-like finishes on vases, fountains, statues, table tops, and other items typically represent a high quality and expensive product. Unfortunately, such items made from marble are very expensive, while available techniques for obtaining marble-like finishes result in a finish of relatively poor quality, and are thus perceived as being "fake" items.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,266,926 is directed to forming a marble-like pattern on objects. A silk mat is utilized to be applied over the object prior to the application of the second color. U.S. Pat. No. 3,340,087 is directed to a mechanized process of producing a marble-like finish. A metallic wool material is utilized to create the dual-color surface pattern of the marble-like finish. As previously suggested, such mats formed from randomly positioned strands of silk or steel do not result in a high quality finish which closely resembles natural polished marble.
Depending on the material of the object to be finished, other prior art pseudo-marble finishing techniques provide finishes which are, at best, of marginally acceptable quality. Accordingly, such techniques have not been widely accepted by the public, and are generally used only for relatively poor quality objects which offer the buyer a cheap imitation of real marble products. Also, if such prior art techniques are applied to objects of different materials, such as wood, metal, or plastic, the quality of the finish may be even further sacrificed. Moreover, objects having substantially non-planar surfaces often cannot be finished with a pseudo-marble appearance because the mat utilized cannot be made to sufficiently conform to the configuration of the surface to be painted.
Problems similar to those described above with respect to obtaining a high quality marble-like finish are also applicable to prior art techniques for obtaining a wood-grain type finish or a high quality antiquing finish. The disadvantages of the prior art are, however, overcome by the present invention, and improved methods and apparatus are hereinafter described for obtaining a high quality finish of two or more visually distinct colors.